Loki season 2

The second season of the American television series Loki, based on Marvel Comics featuring the character of the same name, sees Loki working with Mobius M. Mobius, Hunter B-15, and other members of the Time Variance Authority (TVA) to navigate the multiverse to find Sylvie, Ravonna Renslayer, and Miss Minutes. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the films of the franchise. The season is produced by Marvel Studios, with Eric Martin serving as head writer and Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead leading the directing team.

Tom Hiddleston reprises his role as Loki from the film series, starring alongside Sophia Di Martino (Sylvie), Wunmi Mosaku (Hunter B-15), Eugene Cordero, Neil Ellice, Owen Wilson (Mobius), Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Renslayer), Tara Strong (Miss Minutes), and Jonathan Majors reprising their roles from the first season, alongside Rafael Casal, Kate Dickie, Liz Carr, Ke Huy Quan, and Richard Dixon. Development on a second season had begun by November 2020, and was confirmed in July 2021, with Martin, Benson, and Moorhead all hired by late February 2022. Filming began in June 2022 at Pinewood Studios and concluded in October. Dan DeLeeuw and Kasra Farahani were revealed as additional directors for the season in June 2023.

The second season debuted on Disney+ on October 5, 2023, and ran for six episodes until November 9, as part of Phase Five of the MCU. The season received positive reviews from critics, with praise for its conclusion, musical score, and Loki's character arc.

Directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead and cinematographer Isaac Bauman have cameos in the season as John Anglin, Clarence Anglin, and a dirt bike enthusiast, respectively.^{[citation needed]}

Loki star Tom Hiddleston and executive producer Kevin R. Wright began having conversations during production of the season one episode "Lamentis" regarding "how this world could build out" to "dive deeper into it". Development on a second season had begun by November 2020. In January 2021, the first season's head writer Michael Waldron signed an overall deal with Disney which included his involvement in the second season of Loki. Marvel Studios producer Nate Moore, who served as an executive producer on the series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, believed Loki had "really irreverent and clever and cool" storylines that lent to the series having multiple seasons rather than being a one-off event. The second season was confirmed through a mid-credits scene in the first-season finale, which was released in July 2021, and Hiddleston said "deep discussions" about the second season were already underway. First season director Kate Herron said she would not return for the second season as she had always planned to only be involved for one season, while Waldron said it "remain[ed] to be seen" if he would be involved.

In February 2022, the directing duo Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead were hired to direct a majority of the episodes for the second season. They previously directed two episodes of another Marvel Studios series, Moon Knight (2022), which went so well that the studio wanted them to work on other projects and they were quickly chosen for the second season of Loki. Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige had approached the duo while they were working on additional photography for Moon Knight to have them meet with Wright and Hiddleston to discuss coming on board for the season. Eric Martin, a first-season writer who took over some of Waldron's duties during production on that season, was set to write all six episodes of the second season, with Hiddleston and Waldron confirmed to be returning as executive producers. Benson and Moorhead were excited to approach another character in Loki who, like Moon Knight's Marc Spector / Moon Knight, was defined by being an outcast and had "complexity in being [an] outcast". Pre-production had begun by the end of April 2022. Dan DeLeeuw, a visual effects supervisor and second unit director on several MCU films, and season one production designer Kasra Farahani were revealed as directors in June 2023; they each directed one episode of the season, with Benson and Moorhead directing the other four. DeLeeuw was chosen to direct given his past work directing second units for Marvel Studios, as well as his approach to character in the visual effects reviews of season one, and Farahani, being a writer and director, was chosen because he "really understood the world and helped build it". Wright said both "were steady hands who knew this world and these characters". Executive producers for the season include Marvel Studios' Feige, Stephen Broussard, Louis D'Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Brad Winderbaum, and Wright, alongside Hiddleston, Benson and Moorhead, Martin, and Waldron.

Farahani, Jason O'Leary, and Katharyn Blair served as writers on the season alongside Martin, with Farahani acting as a staff writer for the season. Waldron said the season would continue the story of the first season but in a way that felt different, subverted expectations, and explored "new emotional ground" for Loki. Hiddleston explained that Loki is once again with the Time Variance Authority (TVA) and working with Mobius M. Mobius, despite Mobius not remembering Loki, and has confronted Sylvie about her actions at the end of the first season. He added that the second season would be "a battle for the soul of the TVA". More of the TVA's history is explored in the season. Wright explained that much of the "core character conflict" in the season came from the TVA and each's relationship to it, stating, "We want everybody to be in the gray area — they're neither good nor bad. They might make bad choices or heroic choices, but they are trying to figure out who they are. The TVA felt like the place where we could maximize that storytelling and learn more about those characters through that." Much of the season was about each character becoming the best versions of themselves. Wright stated that the creatives wanted to push the weirdness of the series further in the second season, while still keeping the longer, character-driven moments, notably the friendship between Loki and Mobius. The writers took caution to not start the season by "fast-forwarding through the drama" from the end of the first season, but to sit with and explore Loki and Sylvie's "emotional turmoil" they have entering the season. The season will help connect the entire Multiverse Saga of the MCU.

Following the end of filming the season one finale, "For All Time. Always", executive producer Kevin R. Wright and actress Sophia Di Martino began an informal discussion of Sylvie's future, with Di Martino thinking she would be hungry after the death of He Who Remains concluded her long revenge mission. As development on the second season began, Wright felt that having Sylvie visit a 1980s McDonald's would be "appealing" for her as a place to "slow down", being drawn to that location based on the nostalgia a young child had going there after a sporting event or for a birthday party, which Sylvie never experienced. The 1982 McDonald's location was written into the script before approaching the company, a reverse of the typical brand partnerships in media, with Wright thinking McDonald's would view the inclusion as trying to make fun of them rather than the "earnest story [and] love letter" they were creating. Marvel Studios had an existing marketing partnership with McDonald's, with the restaurant also looking to collaborate with brands beyond the typical product tie-in, leading to McDonald's approving its inclusion in the season. McDonald's global chief marketing officer Morgan Flatley believed Sylvie's story aligned with their brand of "providing comfort and familiarity". The McDonald's is located in Broxton, Oklahoma, which was chosen as "a tip of the hat to fans", given it was the location of Asgard in the comics in the late 2000s and early 2010s, and "a little bit of a nod to the DNA" of Sylvie, since she is partially based on Sylvie Lushton who was from Broxton in the comics. The season also visits 1970s London and the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.